


Somebody Left the Gate Open

by lordbatty



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, Gay Keith (Voltron), Keith (Voltron) Needs a Hug, Lance cares, M/M, Mentioned Abuse, Pining Keith (Voltron), Slow Burn, Song Inspired, klance, lance is a good friend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-24
Updated: 2017-02-24
Packaged: 2018-09-26 16:31:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9911360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lordbatty/pseuds/lordbatty
Summary: Lance always knew he would have to be the one to pick Keith back up. And he'd do it again in a heartbeat.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I've had not the best of days, so writing has been a no go. But I am really happy to finally have this written and posted because it's something I've been wanting to work on for a while. Heavily inspired by "Into the Wild" by LP. I highly recommend the song and/or video!
> 
> Also, some of the street names in this and such are (obviously) inspired by Voltron names and places. I'll list them briefly, because I'm super proud of the way I went about it and also so that you can take a look at what's what exactly.
> 
> Talean Street: *Altean  
> Ballerma Street: *Balmera  
> The Blue Lion diner: *well  
> Lokari Ave: *Olkari  
> Vadulet Road: *Teladuv  
> Galara University: *Galra
> 
>  
> 
> Enjoy! ♥

* * *

 

 **10:25pm  
** come get me

 

Lance felt his breath leave his body when his phone vibrated on the nightstand. It could really have been only one of three people, but one in particular he was waiting for. Keith had been in trouble for some time now, and Lance knew it would only be a matter of time before he reached out to someone. To get him out of there. To save him. But why it was Lance, nobody really knew. Not even Lance himself.

 

 **10:27pm  
** Where are you?

 

 

Lance was holding his breath again, but not before bolting out of his bed and aimlessly stumbling around his dorm room looking for a pair of jeans and hoodie to throw on. He hadn’t even considered where his sneakers were, either. If he had to go barefoot then so be it. He could drive barefoot. And Lance was pretty sure he had a pair of sandals thrown in the backseat somewhere anyway.

 

 **10:33pm** **  
** i ‘m not sure. not at the apartment. i‘ve never walked this far before.

 

 

That made Lance nervous. Keith was known to wander in intense situations. His brother Shiro had warned Lance of this once he knew they were both in the same college. Even more so when they were in the same dorm hall. For whatever reason, Shiro had decided to instil  trust in Lance to watch after his younger brother. It was weird, since there were literally five other people Shiro knew and could have asked. Why was Lance so special?

 

 **10:35pm** **  
** Look around you. Take a picture if you have to for me. What are you near?  
What do you see? Are there any signs or shops or cafes?  
This is a big area, Keith, you gotta be near something recognizable.  
The apartment is only a five minute drive from the dorms.   
I need you to tell me. I need you to help me out, kay?

 

 

Lance hoped that didn’t sound to insensitive. He didn’t mean for it to, honestly. He just wanted to know where Keith was and get him. What if he was hurt? What if he wasn’t alone after all? What if he went back?

Grabbing his car keys off the desk, Lance bolted out of the dorm  making sure he had his wallet and student ID to get back in then took off down the hall and flew down the stairs. He didn’t stop until he got into the car and started the engine, jamming the keys into the ignition as if the entire world depended on it.

At the very least, Keith’s world did.

 

 **10:40pm** **  
** there’s a diner.  i think it’s called The Blue Lion or something.    
i can’t see it from here, but it’s like. i’ll send a picture.  
there’s a couple of cafe’s, too. maybe a shop.   
i think the sign says Talean Street.   
i’m . . .  on the corner of that and Ballerma.

 

 

Lance didn’t need a photo. He knew exactly where that diner was, and yes it was called The Blue Lion. It always looked like a cross between they were trying to go for retro and futuristic space. It was tacky and colorful. Most of the time it was always crowded, but Lance loved the place. The food was good and as god awful as it looked, it grew on Lance. It was kind of his aesthetic in a weird way. The entire college area was kind of weird, but that’s what everyone loved about it. It was artsy, but scientific and weird. You met all kinds of people between the college and all the way up towards Ballerma. Even beyond that, sometimes.

Keith sent a picture, but Lance didn’t need it. He didn’t even glance at it. But picking up his phone, while keeping both eyes on the road and trying to stay the speed limit, Lance turned on voice recording in the message and spoke.

 

*

 **10:50pm** **  
** _‘I’m on my way.’_

 

Lance’s voice was soothing and Keith couldn’t help but to smile just a little bit, even if his lip did hurt. He knew he should have messaged Lance two hours before, but he was afraid. They didn’t know each other all that well, but it was enough to form a mutual friendship. Even if they did fight a lot and get heated over little things. Plus Lance was the only person he knew besides Shiro who had a car. And Keith wasn’t about to message Shiro about this entire mess.

Keith pocketed his phone and looked around him. The corner of Talean and Ballerma was always so busy. But tonight, a clear skied Sunday it was dead. It was quiet, but not in the eerie way. It was calming. It was safe. At least, that’s what he hoped.

Closing his eyes, Keith slid his back down the wall of The Blue Lion diner and sat on the concrete below him. His tattered black and red messenger bag slumped off his lap a he brought knees up to his chest, hands clasping around each other. He’d left without his jacket, but that didn’t matter. It was the middle of spring and the weather was warming up. Still, sitting around in ripped black skinny jeans and a red heathered shirt wouldn’t suit well for the impending nightfall. It was going to get cold. BUt Lance was coming, right? Right . . . he’d said so.

Keith sighed, dropping his head back against the cold metal of the diner’s outside, his gaze averting up to the sky. The lingering pinkish orange of the earlier sunset was still present to the right of him, but above him was always dark and star filled. It made him think of Lance. The way he always talked about space, weather, stars and clouds. It was always so cute. He was always so cute. If the stars were a person, it would have been Lance. Bold and bright, soft and comforting. Nothing like the situation he’d been in for the last month.

Slow, pulsing throbs came from left eye, his knuckles red but slowly fading into a dull purple. The right side of his neck covered in a smattering of black, blue, and red. There was dried blood somewhere on his lip, Keith was sure of it. He’d felt it before. Tasted the haunting metallic flavor of his own blood. He hated it here, but stayed for Shiro. Stayed for school. This was the only place he knew, but it was the only place he allowed himself to get hurt. And what for? Because he felt unwanted? Because he didn’t know where else to go? Because of Lance?

What? No. Not because of Lance. Why would that . . .

God. Crushes were stupid.

 

*

 

Lance couldn’t have gotten there fast enough, but he really didn’t need a speeding ticket right now. God, that would be the worst right now if he got pulled over. He didn’t know where Keith would be since there were other places to sit around than The Blue Lion diner. But there were enough street lamps from where he was all the way through that little area to probably be able to find Keith. What was he wearing again? Lance kicked himself mentally for not paying attention before the other boy had left the dorms that afternoon.

 

 **11:10pm** **  
** Hey Keith. Where are you? I’m coming up on Talean.

 **11:12pm** **  
** literally in front of that diner. i’m sitting in front of it. by lightpost. can’t miss.

 

 

Lance tossed his phone back onto the passenger seat and turned the corner of Talean, right onto Ballerma. Sure enough, Keith was sitting with his knees up, back against the diner, head leaning onto his left hand.

Relief was one way to put how Lance felt at that moment. Worried was another.

“Keith!” Lance parked his silver blue car and killed the engine before jumping out of the car and racing over to where Keith was sitting. That’s when his gaze met more of the problem than he was led to believe.

A nasty bruise circled Keith’s left eye top to bottom. His knuckles were almost the same color, though more on the red side than anything else. A slit right down the middle of his bottom lip was dried over and crusted with blood. His neck bore witness to sloppy, rough kisses and bites. Lance felt his heart almost stop, then it dropped to the pit of his stomach. “Keith.”

“I’m fine,” Keith immediately rejected the concern, standing to his feet but not without stumbling first. He was still feeling out of it, still shaken.

“No you’re not. That’s the complete opposite of fine,” Lance frowned deeply, reaching out a hand to help, but Keith jumped and shied back rather quickly.

“It’s nothing. And it’s not your problem,” Keith felt wrong. Why was he acting like this He’d wanted Lance to come. He asked for help.

“It’s my problem when you text me to come get you!” Lance barked, reaching for Keith again as the other began to walk away towards the car. “Don’t message me something like that, have me come out here, then expect for me to not want to talk about it or help you! That’s not how this works, Keith, you _know_ that!”

Keith was flinching at every word, hands coming up to his own arms hugging himself. They weren’t angry words, no they were concerned, but still loud and still scary. He wanted help, he wanted Lance to help him, but he was scared. And he was defensive. He didn’t like knowing that he was wrong. He didn’t like looking vulnerable. He didn’t like being weak.

“Keith please,” Lance walked over, the lamp post above them flooding their faces with light. He was able to get a better look at Keith then, reaching a gentle hand onto Keith’s exposed arm. “Let me help you. That’s what you messaged me for, isn’t it?”

Lance’s touch was intoxicating. It was soft and gentle, not what Keith was used to. It was calming and loving, too. Everything Keith craved and wanted. So why was he shutting Lance out? “I’m sorry,” was all Keith could say as his arms dropped to his sides. Lance’s hand was still touching his arm and honestly, he didn’t want it to let go. He felt safe.

“What happened?” Lance brought his other hand up to Keith’s chin and gently turned the other boy’s head towards the light to get a better look at the damage. “Did he-”

“Yes,” Keith kept his violet gaze down to the ground. “He wanted to have sex. I said no. So we argued, then we fought. I threw the first punch, and that was my mistake.”

“No it wasn’t,” Lance thumbed gently over the bruise on Keith’s eye.  “You did the right thing.”

“Can we go?” Keith turned his head away from Lance’s touch, reaching for the passenger door handle.

“Sure,” Lance nodded. “Where do you wanna go?”

“Anywhere but here,” Keith threw off his bag, tossing it in the back seat before getting inside the car and shutting the door.

Lance sighed heavily before digging out his keys and getting in the driver’s end, turning the engine on and throwing his seat belt on. A soft whirr above his head let him know that Keith had pressed the button for the roof hatch to be let down. Sometimes having a hand me down convertible had it’s perks.

Keith rested his head back against the seat as Lance drove off, closing his eyes and lifting his hands up towards open sky. The wind was rushing through his hair, through his fingers and around his arms. It was freeing, it was comforting, and it was home.

Lance couldn’t help but stare every now and then as he drove off in the complete opposite direction of the dorms. Off of Ballerma street, there was a whole other town. That was the good thing about being in a college area. Every street led to another town. And going back to the dorms was, well expected. He wanted Keith to feel safe and secure. If it had been up to Lance, they both would have been on the next road to nowhere.

 

*

 

After about fifteen minutes into the drive, Keith had relaxed his arms and put them down into his lap, his head still resting on the back of his seat. His eyes were opened now, though, looking at all the buildings and lights and cars passing them. “Where are we?”

“Oh, uh, I had turned left on Ballerma. That leads to Lokari Ave, which is in the next town over. You know that really techy college town Pidge likes to go to?”

“Yeah,” Keith nodded, eyes still looking to his right at the world passing by him. “Why do you think I get into bad situations, Lance?”

“What?” Lance frowned, stopping at a red light just before entrance into the town he spoke up.

“You heard me,” Keith’s tone took a frustrated turn. “Why do I get into bad situations? Bad lives, bad boyfriends, bad everything? Why do I keep doing this to myself? What’s the point?”

Lance rubbed both thumbs on the steering wheel, gnawing at his bottom lip. He didn’t have an answer for Keith. He wasn’t Shiro, he didn’t know Keith for that long. But it was true that Keith was the kind of person who just ended up finding trouble and sticking with it. Shiro had said it was because of stress and never having a settled life. Lance honestly didn’t think so.

“I don’t have an answer for you, Keith,” Lance swallowed. If he had to talk to Keith, it was going to be openly and honestly. “I wish I did. But I don’t. And honestly, I wish you would have broken up with that jerk long ago. I knew he was going to hurt you, but I knew you weren’t going to listen to me.”

Keith sighed in annoyance, rubbing a hand over his face. “Thanks for the lecture, Shiro.”

“That’s not what I was aiming for,” Lance frowned, pressing the gas pedal once the light turned green. “But if we’re going to talk about this, I’m not going to sugarcoat. You need to hear what you need to hear. And believe it or not, I don’t have all the answers, Keith. I can’t solve your problems for you. I can only tell you what I notice, what I see, and what I think you should do. Whether you listen to not is up to you.”

“Yeah well,” Keith propped his elbow up onto the window edge of the door and dropped his cheek onto the heel of his hand. “Maybe I just deserve it then.”

“That’s where you’re wrong again,” Lance sighed. “You don’t deserve this. You don’t deserve anything that’s happened to you. I know you’ve . . . had problems before. I know you think the world is unsafe and unfair. But there’s good, Keith. You just seem to keep running in the opposite direction of it.”

Keith closed his eyes for a moment before speaking. “Because I keep getting hurt.”

“You keep letting yourself get hurt,” Lance corrected. He was looking around, unfamiliar with the town he was in, though having heard Pidge talk about it numerous times. He knew that there was another road that led off toward the dorms, but was a longer drive.

“If you’re looking for Vadulet Road, it’s to the left a ways,” Keith mumbled, removing his propped arm and slouching back in his seat.

Lance nodded, unsure where to take the conversation from here. He knew Keith needed to talk, but it was hard to get the boy to do so more often than not. And Lance had known it would only be a matter of time before Keith’s most recent boyfriend from Galara University was going to do something stupid and dangerous. He’d been right, of course. But now it was too late.

“Did you break it off, at least?”

“What?” Keith’s eyes were once again fixated upwards towards the night sky.

“Did you break up with the idiot,” Lance repeated louder, keeping his eyes peeled for the road sign he needed.

Keith was quiet for a minute, bringing his knees up again, feet on the seat he was in and hands in between his thighs. “I hope so.”

 

*

 

It was almost one in the morning when Lance pulled back into the dorm’s parking lot. There hadn’t been much more for talking on the way back which sucked since he’d taken the long way back for a reason. But Keith had gone silent, refusing to answer anything further and even more so refusing to talk about what happened. Though, Lance could get a really awesome idea as to what. It wasn’t that hard to figure out.

“Hey,” Keith spoke softly as they ascended the stairway to their hall. They didn’t share a room, but they were directly across the hall from each other. Lance was Blue 2201, Keith had been Red 2202. It was kind of funny in a way.

“What’s up?” Lance fumbled in his wallet for his room key, standing by the door. Before he knew it, Keith had abandoned his side of the hallway and was standing in front of Lance, by Blue 2201.

“Thank you, I guess,” Keith dropped his gaze once Lance’s vibrant blue eyes darted up. “I mean you didn’t . . . you didn’t have to come get me.”

“Yes I did,” Lance jammed his key into the lock and turned it. “And besides. I wanted to. I knew you were in trouble. I knew . . . I knew you’d need someone.”

“Yeah,” Keith nodded, rubbing his own arm. “Could I come in, maybe? For a little while? Unless you wanted to sleep. It’s late.”

Lance already had gently taken Keith’s hand into his own by that point, pulling them both into his room. Keith’s skin was soft, save for the rough bruised knuckles from the night’s problem. Keith always looked so soft and light to Lance. It was beautiful to look at and he could only imagine how wonderful it must be to kiss.

“Lance,” Keith squeezed the darker boy’s hand just then, fingers trembling in the middle of it. “Do you . . . do you think I’m. Do you think people just want me-”

“No,” Lance scolded, bringing himself up towards Keith, face to face. Their hands were still together and for what it was worth, he didn’t want to let go. “You’re more than a pretty face, Keith. You’re more than a gay fling for some. You’re more than just a stupid good time. You’re a person, with feelings and consideration. You’re a lot more than you give yourself credit for, Keith. Listen to me. Please for once. Listen to what I’m telling you.” He swallowed hard, taking note of the glisten in Keith’s violet-grey eyes.

“I want to leave,” Keith closed his eyes for a moment, then dropped his head onto Lance’s shoulder, pulling his hand away but finding it again grasping onto Lance’s shirt. “I don’t want to stay here anymore. I don’t want to be in school. I want to run away. I want to leave.” A brief pause and shudder of his shoulders before words found themselves again. “I want something to save me.”

“Oh Keith,” Lance sighed, wrapping both arms around the other boy. “I know. And I know you think that’s going to fix everything, but it won’t. And if you leave, you’re gonna miss out on a lot of good.”

“You don’t have anything to be sorry for, either. Nothing to be ashamed of, nothing to be scared of. If he comes around, I’ll take care of him, or have Shiro do it. You don’t . . . you don’t deserve this, Keith no matter what you want to tell yourself,” Lance closed his eyes softly resting his head on top of Keith’s. He couldn’t help but take notice of just how soft Keith’s hair was. “You’ll be okay now, I promise.”

Keith’s grip loosened slightly, though still holding on. Face buried in the crook of Lance’s neck, hot tears falling onto Lance’s exposed skin. He’d never thought of being in this position with Lance of all people. But it seemed that the crush was mutual on Lance’s end, and maybe they weren’t so hated at each other after all. They were friends, right?

“Can I stay here?”

“Yeah, Keith,” Lance nodded, giving the boy in his arms a gentle squeeze. “You can stay here.”

Keith was tired. He didn’t remember undressing and throwing on one of Lance’s blue t-shirts in the tiny dorm bathroom. He didn’t remember climbing into the tiny twin sized bed beside Lance, his back to the wall. But he knew that he was there and he knew that he’d done those things. What with staring Lance in the face blue eyes, messy brown hair, splattered freckles and all, it was hard to not notice. Their legs had somehow become tangled together in the thick of it all, as to make as much room on the small bed as possible. Lance’s arm tucked under Keith’s head, his free arm finding itself around Keith’s hip, hand on his lower back. They were closer than they’d ever been before and to Keith it was more of an open door than he’d ever seen in his life.

Lance resorted to lazily playing with Keith’s hair, eyes fixed up towards the ceiling. Keith was listening to the steady, rapid thuds of Lance’s heart. Neither of them spoke, and Keith was fast losing the battle to stay awake. Lance playing with his hair didn't help that cause, either. Before Lance knew it, Keith was asleep soundly and deeply, his breathe more peaceful and even than it had been that entire night.

It was two in the morning. Keith was asleep and probably less scared than he had been earlier when Lance had gotten that message. Lance , however , couldn’t find himself settled enough to sleep. Even with a beautiful, battered Keith in his bed and in his arms.

So Lance did the only thing he could think of.

 

 **2:07am** **  
** Hey , Hunk . . . I think I need your help.


End file.
